Trumpet in the Land

July 8, 2019 @ 8:30 pm - 11:00 pm

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Trumpet in the Land

Written by Paul Green / Music by Frank Lewin

Trumpet in the Land , Ohio’s premier and longest running outdoor theatre production, brings to life the tragic but inspiring story of David Zeisberger and his Christian Indian followers as they struggled to preserve their peaceful settlement despite the growing violence of the Revolutionary War.

The story begins in 1772 in the heart of the Ohio wilderness. Ziesberger, a Moravian minister has just arrived in the Ohio valley with dreams of building the first settlement in the wilderness, Schoenbrunn. Meanwhile, tempers between the British and Americans flair, eventually leading to the start of the Revolutionary War.

When the Revolutionary War breaks out, Zeisberger and his followers find themselves caught between the British at Fort Detroit and the Americans at Fort Pitt. By refusing to take sides in the struggle, Zeisberger and his people incur the wrath of both warring parties, eventually leading to the brutal massacre of 96 Christian Indians at Gnadenhutten in 1782 by a band of American militiamen. President Teddy Roosevelt, a noted historian, called the event “a stain on the frontier character that time cannot wash away.”

The performance is full of unforgettable historical characters including Simon Girty, a conniving border renegade who agitated for all-out war in the region; Captain Pipe, a young warrior chief whose hatred of all white men for the killing of his father added to the dangers facing the missionaries; and John Heckewelder, one of the first explorers of the “Ohio country.”

Written by Pulitzer prize-winning playwright Paul Green, Trumpet in the Land is set in the very hills once traveled by those portrayed in the show and handpicked by the author. Watch the warm summer nights come alive with beautiful horses, brilliant fire dances, authentic looking costumes, fiery battle pyrotechnics and a beautiful natural setting.

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About Us

The Tuscarawas County Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB), located in New Philadelphia, Ohio, was founded in 1979 by the Tuscarawas County Commissioners as a IRS-designated not-for-profit 501(c) 6 organization to respond to the growing number of visitor requests received in the area. The CVB began as a committee under the Tuscarawas County Chamber of Commerce and money for… Read More>